Pneumatic meter or the like



Aug. 1, 1950. 1.. WAlNWRlGHT 2,516,932

PNEUMATIC METER OR THE LIKE Filed April 25, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1.

INVENTOR.

LAWRENCE WAINWRIGHT 1950 L. WAINWRIGHT 2,516,932

PNEUMATIC METER QR THE LIKE Filed April 25, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN'IOR.

98 LAWRENCE WAINWRIGHT AJIITORNF Patented Aug. 1, 1950 cc: STATES FATE NT cm Lawrence..Wainwri'gfitg Brooklyn,.N. Y., assignor to. Deerihg: Millikan Research Trust; N cw York, N. Y.', anonprofifiti'ust of, NbwYork Applicatiomdprili25, 1947;.Seria1 Nol 74%;816;

Glaiinsi (Ci. 73-3173) 1. 21 The:- present; invention relates? to; measuring and. 3a are. front. and. top plan views, devices;21inchparticularly to devices. for measurerespectively,. of a.- di'fierenti format. jet. tubeior, ing; the; diameter: or crossi-sectionof filamentary use. in. the assembly of Fig.;.1-,.and' material such. as. yarn, wire: or the like and Eigsais a. diagram. showingethemeter. ofjFig, comprises. a simple;.- rugged." and. accuratepneu. 1i connected for regulationof. a. yarn spinning matically operatedrdeviceroithischaracter which mechanism. is; relatively quick; acting. and of. compactlconw The principle of operation of the newmeter. st'ruction. may, be. readily, understood by. reference, to the The device of the. invention; is? particularly diagram of Fig.. 1.. which is, in.thel form of. the. adaptediontheircontinuous.measurem'entlof.fila I well; known. Wheatstone bridge network,. but ment cross-section variations. during: travel. of comprises.pneumatic,.rather thanelectricalielethe'filamentandmay hearrangeddor recording ments. in. Eig; 1, (A, B10. and; Di represent; flow such. variations. on for; regulation of. filament. impedancesaastfor examplefi'estrictedtpassages, crnsssection. y ccntroL of an. elementa afiecting; and.G'represents apressurelgauge forimeasuring the. production; the filament 15 the. pressure difierentialiacross. the bridge. Air

There" has been a substantiaL need particuunder constant pressure. is. supplied to the net'- larlm in the-[textile ihdustry for' aifilament cross- WOIK' at. Siand. exhausted to atmosphere through sectionlondiametermeter-onregiilaton that would- CiandiD. In. their device of; the invention a re-. hebath.accurateamtquibkacting;and;also. relastricticn which varies with the dimensions. of. tivelin economical to. manufacture.w and; operate; the; filament? being measured corresponds with PfiOtbr-EIBCfiYi-CL metering. devices. have recently. the restriction C and an: adjustable. orifice*cor-- fieensuggesteri Because. of them quiclimresponse. responds with the restriction D. Thus; D may. and. because of. the; fact that. control signals ob. be adjusted to balance the" network for any pretainedi thereby cam be. conveniently amplified determinedidimensionsofthe filamentiandivarifor operation. of recording or regulating devices... 2 at'ions of such: filament" dimensions will be in'- Photoeelect'ric.measuring" devices, however-snot di'cated by the gauge G. Alternatively, the only. involve considerable. relatively costly and}. Bridge could be balanced before introduction" of e iti ipment but are: subject to. inac;-- the" filament" into the restriction corresponding curacy.- when', used. 139;, measure. the. diamten. of; 150' C and magnitude- Of filament dimensions infilaments of non-circular crossesections, as. for. dicated by example yarniof lomtwisttfacton. Fig: 11,01 course; is'purely diagrammatic: It

Rheumatic. devices on the other. hand; arenot does not represent any practical construction of subject tciinaccuraciesdue tonon..-cir.cu1ar1crossmeter; sectiomofi filament but constructionsiheretoforev nf F a" m t as y, op i proposcdlhavabeensmg ish;imoperaticmandmnprinciple of Fig. 1'", is-iilustrated; The-assembly: wieldly in size. i ofFig; 2 comprises ingeneral apressure resporr The: device. of the. present invention,. Being sive-unitiindicatedatZ andfa jet tube ffor pas small, quick. acting, powerful. and; accurate, thus. sage offllamentarymaterial G therethrough; The combines. the advantages of? the photoelectric pressure responsive unit 2 comprisesuppenand. andi earlier: pneumatic types of; meters while 40. lbwerdiscs candm providedwith matingannu omitting; the. disadvantages. thereoil lar flanges" Wand l3, respectively. A diaphragm For; an understanding, of the new. meter or l6? which is circumferentiallt held Between the: regulator; reference may, be had. to the accomflanges I2 and Mi divides theinteriorofunifi 2 ganyingv drawings; of which: intotwo chambers liiand Ell. The partsofthe;

Eig;. h iaaschematic. diagram illustrating. the. unit-"are Held tbgetherby means ofbolts 22whichi principle. offl the pneumatic; meter. of the inven. passthroughaligned-passages in the flanges and ti'on'; dianhragm" and=have nuts 24 threaded on their'f Eig'. 2'..issa.view partly, in section oftlieflmeter" ends". A pairofradial passages 2 6 and 28 are assemhly comprising; the differential? pressure? drilled in-tlie'flangesi l2 and M, respectively; so-

unitnandijet tuiie; l astbrintersectat right'anglesamassageM which Fig. 2a is a. perspective. View of; the jet; tube extendst'tirough'the fiangesand which'is'adjaptedf Fi .1 the closure member; thereof rereceive at'ubular member 32-. Member fi is moved; closed at one! end and is provided withfa pair? of Rigs 2th at fragmentam View illustrating: a small'orifices34 and36'which areahgnedwith mudifihatibm. passages 26" and" 28*, respectively: Passages-j: 26f

3 and 28 outward from their junction with passage 30 are threaded for reception of set screws 38 which press the tube 32 firmly against the inner wall of passage 39 and prevent leakage. Tube 32 is connected by flexible tubing Ml to a suitable source of constant air pressure, indicated diagrammatically as a pump 39, delivering pressure through a suitable regulating valve. The orifices 34 and 36 correspond with the impedances A and B of Fig. l, and the diaphragm it which is sub- I ject to the opposing pressures in chambers l8 and 20 corresponds to the element G of Fig. 1. Air escapes from chamber l8 through a tubular member 42, flexible tubing M and the jet tube 4, hereinafter more fully described, and escapes from chamber 20 through a tubular member 4'! under control of an adjustable needle valve 48. Tubular member 42 is mounted and constructed like member 32 except that it has no orifice in communication with chamber 26 and the opening 43 thereof communicating with chamber is is large enough to permit substantially unre' stricted flow therethrough. Jet tube ll corresponds with impedance C of 1, and the outlet in tube 4! controlled by the needle valve .8 corresponds with the adjustable impedance D of Fig. 1. 7

One end of a rod 45 is secured to diaphragm l at the center thereof, as by means of washers 49 and nut 59. The rod 46 extends through a central aperture in disc 3 and through the bore of a tube 52 secured to the disc; the bore of the tube 52 being only slightly greater than the diameter of. the rod 45 to prevent excessive leakage of air. An airtight fit is not necessary as leakage along the rod is in parallel with the leakage controlled by the needle valve 48 and hence may be considered as part of impedance D of Fig.1. Rod 46 may be connected for operation of an in dicating device, or of a recorder or of a regulator, as desired. In the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated in Fig. 1, movement of the rod in responseto changes in the pressuredifferential acting on the diaphragm it moves an indicating needle 54 over a scale 56. For this purpose, the outer end of rod 46 carries a rack 58 which meshes with a gear 60 mounted on a shaft 62. Shaft 62 is rotatably supported in upright members 64 carried by disc 8. The scale 56 is conveniently mounted on one of the upright members 64 and the needle 54 is secured to shaft 62 for os-. cillation thereby. To allow clearance for the nut. 50 during movement of the diaphragm and to provide access for orientation of the rod 46, disc I 0 is centrally apertured to receive a short internally threaded tubular member 66, the outer end of which is closed by a screw plug B8.

The particular form of jet tube i illustrated in Figs. 2 and 2a comprises a cylindrical member which has integrally secured thereto an externally threaded member E2 of lesser diameter. Member 10 is provided with an axial passage M terminating within the member 12. Member 12 has a diametral slot .15 therein for receptionof the filament to be measured, and a groove 16 intersecting passage 14 and aligned with slot is formed in the end wall 18 of member 10. Passage 14 is expanded at its outer end for reception of a tubular member 883. A removable cover or cap 82 for the threaded member 12 completes the jet tube 4. The tube is mounted on any suitable bracket 84 with the member Bil connected,

to the flexible tubing 44. Preferably, when the filamentary material to be measured is 'flexible as for example, when yarn is to be measured,

guide means 86 are mounted on the bracket 84 in a position to lead the material relatively promptly out of the path of the air issuing from the passage formed between cap 82 and member 10 by the groove 16.

In Fig. 2, the filamentary material 6, is shown in position within the jet tube 4. It will be understood thatno threading of the material through the tube is necessary as it can be inserted through slot 15 and into groove 16 with cap 82 removed. When the cap 82 is in place the inner face there- 'of forms, with groove 16, the passage for the filament. This passage is the exit impedance for the air entering'through tube 30. Preferably, as shown best in Fig. 2a, groove 15 is gradually flared at its ends to avoid turbulence of the air at exit. In operation of the meter assembly of Fig. 2, valve 48 is initially adjusted to bring the pointer 54 in alignment with a desired reading, for example, a zero reading when initial adjustment is made without'the filament in the jet tube, or to a specific reading when a filament of known cross section is within the tube. The face of'scale 56 has not been shown in the drawings as the particular calibration thereof is immaterial to t'he'invention. It may be calibrated in terms of volume, or in terms of cross-section, or in terms of diameter as desired. The constructionof the pressure unit of Fig. 2 lends itself readily for use as a recording devicei For suchpurp'ose. needle 54 could be turned outwardly at its end and provided with'a stylus or pen adjacent which a chart could be moved in timed relation with the movement of yarn through the jet tube 4, as diagrammatically indicatedatE-m in Fig. 2b.

Figs-3 and 3a illustrate another form'of'jet tube suitable for use in the assembly of Fig. 2. In this embodiment of the invention, the tube 4a comprises an outer tubular member 90 and are movable solid core member 92, preferably ground. for a close fit in the bore of member 90. Member 9!! has a longitudinal slot 15a therein and a groove 16a inits inner Wall diametrically oppositethe' slot 15a. A radial passage 14a in member 90 intersects the groove 16a partway the length of the groove, and a tube a is secured to the mem ber for supply of air to the passage 14a. Core 92 may be provided with suitable gripping means as indicated at94 for removal and insertion of the core. Yarn or other filamentary material is" inserted through slot 15a and positioned in groove 16a before insertion of the core 92. The ends of groove 16a,like those of groove 16 of jet tube 4, are preferably'sli ghtly flared, as indicated irr Fi 3. i.

, The relation between the size of filament passage in the jet tubes and size offilamentary ma terial is not critical butpreferablyfor high 'sen-l s'itivity, the cross-section of the passage should be not much over twice the average cross-section of the filament. Thus a single jet'tube can be used for measuring a fairly wide range of filamentary material or one having large variations along its length. Ordinarily, when coarse yarns, for example, are to be measured, a jet' tube with larger passage would be employed than when fine yarns are measured. With change in dimensions of the filament passage of the jet tube, no change, except adjustmentof the needle valve 48, isrequired in the differential pressure unit.

Ina co-pending application of DonaldGiCq" Hare, Ser. No. 735,457, filed Marchl8, 1,947,:cor'1- trol of yarn cross-section or diameter during production of the yarn is disclosed and claimed; The

method disclosed in that application involved the continuous measurement of yarn diameter or cross-section to produce a control signal operative to regulate an element afiecting the production of the yarn, and as a specific example, the produced control signal was used to regulate the rate of feed of the feed rolls of a yarn spinning mechanism. In Fig. 4, the pneumatic device of Fig. 2 is arranged for control of the rate of rotation of the feed rolls of a spinning mechanism in accordance with the disclosure of the said I-Iare application. In Fig. 4, the jet tube 4 is positioned for passage of the yarn therethrough in its travel from the draft rolls 96 to the ring spinner 98 of a conventional spinning mechanism. The rod 46 of unit 2 is connected to the movable element 99 of a conventional planetary transmission mechanism comprising the driven cylinder I00 and driving disc I02 so as to vary the rate of rotation of the cylinder :90 in response to variations in the cross-section of the yarn 5. Cylinder E00, through suitable gearing indicated diagrammatically as comprising bevel gears Hi l and spur gears Hi8, drives the shaft I08 of feed roll H9. With this arrangement, when the diameter or cross-section of the yarn increases above a desired value, rod it moves element 98 toward the center of driving disc H12, thus reducing the rate of rotatiOn of cylinder I00 and consequently that of the feed roll H0. The increase in draft ratio occasioned by such reduction in the rate of rotation of the feed rolls, results in reduction of the size of yarn being drafted. Conversely, a decrease in yarn cross-section causes movement of rod 40 in the reverse direction with consequent increase in rate of rotation of the feed rolls, reduction of draft ratio and increase in yarn size.

The invention has now been described with reference to its use as a meter, a recorder and as a regulator for the driven feed roll of a yarn spinning mechanism. Other uses for the device as a regulator will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the pneumatic device of the invention is simple of construction, requires a minimum of adjustment and is relatively compact. The parts, thereof, namely, the jet tube and the pressure unit may be made of relatively small size. For example, a suitable jet tube for yarn may be under two inches in length (measured along the length of the yarn) and less than two inches across; the outer diameter of the pressure unit may be under three inches and the depth about one-half inch. With a supply pressure of ten pounds per square inch, orifices 34 and 39 of .028 inch in diameter and the area of the diaphragm four square inches, a force equal to five pounds can be developed on the diaphragm for metering or regulating purposes. With suflicient tension on the diaphragm, quick response to yarn cross-section variations is obtained.

Obviously various changes could be made in the particular constructions illustrated without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example when relatively large displacement of the pressure sensitive element is desired, a piston could be substituted for the diaphragm IS.

The following is claimed:

1. A pneumatic gauge for filamentary material comprising in combination, an enclosure, a pressure responsive element in said enclosure dividing the same into two chambers, means for admitting a restricted fiow of air under pressure into each of said chambers, a tubular device having a restricted outlet passage connected to one oi said chambers for escape of air therefrom, said passage being adapted for reception of filamentary material, valve means controlling escape of air from other chamber and a member extending from said casing and secured to said elementf or movement therewith, whereby when said valve means is adjusted for equalization of pressures in said chambers with a filamentary material of one size in the passage of said tubular device, a change in size of the material will cause movement of said member.

2. A pneumatic gauge for filamentary material comprising in combination a tubular member having an elongated passage for reception and travel therethrough of filamentary material and having a passage intersecting said first passage for delivery of air thereto, a pressure sensitive unit comprising a casing, pressure responsive element within said casing dividing the interior thereof into two chambers, a rod extending through said casing and connected with said element for movement therewith, means for admitting restricted flow of air under pressure to both of said chambers, and means for delivering air from one of said chambers to said last mentioned passage of said tubular member.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said tubular member comprises two separable parts having engaging wall portions, one of said wall portions having a groove therein which together with the adjacent wall portion of the other part forms the first mentioned passage, whereby the filamentary material may be inserted in said groove while the parts are separated.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said groove flares outwardly at the ends thereof to minimize turbulence of the emitted air.

LAWRENCE WAINWRIGHT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 887,280 Smith 1- May 12, 1908 1,007,280 Goblet Oct. 31, 1911 2,077,525 Mennesson Apr. 20, 1937 2,205,304 Mutter June 18, 1940 2,266,566 Poole Dec. 16, 1941 2,350,058 May May 30, 1944 2,402,293 Nye June 18, 1946 2,407,100 Richardson Sept. 3, 1946 

